Jim Beam 2
Abstract
The Bullitt County Jim Beam bourbon production plant management team has noticed line
workers are taking excessive breaks throughout their shifts. To keep a productive workforce, the
company decided to institute a new bathroom policy that allows line workers to use the bathroom
once before lunch, during lunch, and once after lunch during their shift. They are also permitted
an additional unscheduled bathroom break each day. The line workers felt this was unfair and
recruited the assistance of the United Food and Commercial Works Union and the Labor Cabinet
for help. From the material presented, the Jim Beam company is using a closed systems approach
and exercising extreme control over its employees (Dash & Padhi, 2020). The company should
explore the cause of the production problem and why they feel it is caused by excessive
bathroom breaks. The company may also want to research ways to best motivate the line workers
to perform more efficiently.
Keywords: Jim Beam, closed system, organization, rational system, natural system
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Case Study: Jim Beam Scenario
Key Roles and Organizational Issues
The Jim Beam company is an American distillery internationally known for its bourbon
and other whiskey products. The company recently observed line workers taking advantage of
the generous break policy and decided to amend its bathroom policy to limit the number of times
they can use the bathroom and penalize those who did not follow the new policy. “Be careful to
obey all my commands so that all will go well with you and your children after you because you
will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God” (Life Application Study Bible,
1996/2011, Deu. 12:28). This concerned the line workers, and they sought the assistance of the
United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Labor Cabinet to help them work with
management to develop a better solution. While the company feels the new policy does provide a
reasonable number of breaks to the employees, the union president feels the policy is degrading.
Theories based on the Type of Organization
Based on the case study presented, it is understandable to believe the Jim Beam company
is a closed system implementing either a rational or natural systems perspective. The closed
system is considered self-contained because it is isolated from environmental sources (Scott &
Davis, 2012). It uses a highly formalized organizational structure, and the employees work as a
group focusing on meeting set organizational goals (Rennie, 2023).
Rational Systems Perspective
For the Jim Beam company, goal completion is their main objective, and getting their
products manufactured and ready for shipment is what the line workers are hired to do. The
rational system is a “combination of relatively high goal specificity and relatively high
formalization” (Scott & Davis, 2016, p. 29). When using the rational system, individuals receive
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specific instructions on what is to be done and then are left alone to accomplish the goal. The
rational system perspective includes several different approaches, namely, Taylor’s Scientific
Management, Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory, and Fayol’s Administrative Theory.
Taylor’s Scientific Management
Instituting scientific management calls for analyzing the routine tasks performed by the
individual to discover the standard procedures that would produce the maximum output with the
minimum input (Scott & Davis, 2012). To help maintain a more productive workforce
implementing Taylor’s Scientific Management would be ideal as it promotes standardized
processes.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory
The bureaucratic theory employs a strong hierarchical management structure with
precise rules to control the members. It also has the possibility of becoming overly authoritarian
and demanding (Dash & Padhi, 2020). By enforcing the new bathroom policy, management is
controlling the employees to meet the organizational goals regardless of the impact on them.
Fayol’s Administrative Theory
The administrative theory highlights an outline for effective and efficient management by
using the five functions of management (forecasting, organizing, managing, coordinating, and
controlling) that apply to all organizations (Suarez-Barraza & Davila, 2021).
It would be advantageous for the Jim Beam company to implement these concepts to
increase production and improve their management team efforts.
Natural Systems Perspective
Another approach to consider is the natural systems perspective. This system places
importance on goal completion and how the individuals interact with each other. It supports the
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idea that interpersonal and informal structures within the organization are needed and does not
consider employees hired hands (Scott & Davis, 2016). Employees are essential to any
organization, and each organization depends highly on their participation and loyalty (Han et al.,
2019). Before implementing the new bathroom policy line workers had no set number of breaks
and were allowed to rotate off the line for short, unscheduled breaks throughout the day.
Implementing this new policy informing them when and how often they can go to the bathroom
takes away their motivation and fails to treat them as adults.
Personal Perspective
Management plays a major role in motivating employees and building structures that take
full advantage of their potential (Altheeb, 2020). The leadership style applied impacts employee
growth, motivation, engagement, and ultimately the organization's success. According to the
case study presented, the Jim Beam company implemented the new bathroom policy to help
maintain production. The new policy puts limits on when the line workers can use the bathroom
and penalizes them for abusing it. While employee productivity levels are essentially based on
their motivation, doing this has probably caused the line workers to lose motivation. By
implementing a natural system, management could have held a meeting with line workers to
openly discuss the production problem and address the issue of wasted time. This would have
made management aware of the issues the line workers were experiencing and created a better
working relationship among those involved.
In today’s world where social media is running rampant, customers and employees play
an important role in any business and should be treated with respect. Posting an unfavorable
message on social media can destroy a company’s reputation overnight.
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Biblical Reference
According to Merida (2015), the Lord provides His followers with many chances of
success while providing guidance, but eventually, He sees the truth. This is true with King
Solomon who enthusiastically followed the word of the Lord until his leadership style changed
and he began taking advantage of his followers and others. The Lord eventually saw him
differently.
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References
Altheeb, S. A. (2020). Leadership style and employee motivation: A study of Saudi Arabian
work environment. Propósitos y Representaciones, 8, 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.20511/pyr2020.v8nSPE2.661
Dash, S. S., & Padhi, M. (2020). Relevance of Max Weber's rational bureaucratic organizations
in modern society. Management Revue, 31(1), 81-91.
https://doi.org/10.5771/0935-9915-2020-1-81
Han, Z., Wang, Q., & Yan, X. (2019). How responsible leadership motivates employees to
engage in organizational citizenship behavior for the environment: A double-mediation
model. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 11(3), 605.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030605
Life Application Study Bible. (2011). New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers
(Original work published 1996).
Merida, T. (2015). Christ-centered exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings. B&H Publishing
Group.
Rennie, J. S. (2023, March 30). Rational, natural, and open systems of organizations in a post-
pandemic economy. Leadership is a People Business.
https://jonsrennie.com/2023/03/30/rational-natural-and-open-systems-of-organizations-
in-a-post-pandemic-economy/#:~:text=Davis%20and%20DeWitt%20(2021)%
20define%20natural%20systems%20as%20organizations%20that,30
Scott, W. R. & Davis, G. F. (2016). Organizations and organizing. Rational, natural, and open
systems perspectives. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (Original work published
2007).
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